Crime

KALAMAZOO, Mich—A reward is being offered in tracking down the three vandals who damaged property at two high schools.

On May 23, Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s deputies were called to Comstock High School, where the suspects had spray painted numerous buildings and the athletic stadium area. Deputies say the vandals also targeted the same areas at Gull Lake High School, causing damages totaling thousands of dollars.

An administrator at Comstock High School says the damages were repaired in time for the school’s graduation ceremony Friday, May 30 in the athletic stadium.

Anyone with information in these cases are asked to call the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department or Silent Observer at 343-2100.

PORTAGE, Mich.—Portage Public Safety officers are warning residents about a scam making its way through the city.

Multiple residents have reported receiving phone calls from a person posing as a computer technician from a well-known company, requesting information to access a personal computer in their home. The suspect claims the computer has a virus that they can remove remotely, if given the correct personal information. In some cases, the scammer locks the victim out of their computer completely then charges the victim hundreds of dollars to access their own computer. In other cases, the suspect installs software to capture passwords and other personal information.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—A Walker police officer killed while trying to stop two robbers is among the nearly three dozen officers who will be honored during the Police Memorial Day of Service ceremony Thursday, May 15.

The memorial will begin at 10 a.m. inside the Grand Rapids Police Department lobby, due to the weather. Dave Hiller, the executive director of the Michigan Fraternal Order of Police, will be the guest speaker at the event. Those who will be honored are:

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Two Kalamazoo area men are facing charges for stealing cars off a dealership lot.

Kalamazoo Public Safety officers were called to the dealership on Stadium Drive on April 17. While there, they found the keys to 15 new vehicles had been stolen and three vehicles were missing from the lot. Two vehicles were recovered by officers within hours of the crime.

A week later, an officer was on a routine patrol near Portage Road and Pitcher Street when he recognized a vehicle matching the description of the third stolen vehicle. The officer tried to stop the driver, but he sped off. The officer tracked the vehicle behind a building in the 500 block of East Walnut Street, where he saw two men running away. The officer caught up to one of the suspects and arrested him. A second officer and his K9 partnered tracked the second suspect to a nearby business, where he was hiding. He was arrested without incident.

With the help of Portage Public Safety, Kalamazoo Township Police and Kalamazoo Public Safety officers, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office searched a home in the 4200 block of N. 26th Street on Tuesday. Inside, they found a suspected meth lab. Deputies also discovered 13 suspected one-pot meth labs in the garage, as well as by-products of meth production.

OSHTEMO, Mich.—Two adults are facing charges for operating a meth lab in a trailer where three children were found.

Investigators discovered the lab around 7:30 a.m. on March 26, when firefighters were called out to a fire at a trailer in the 5500 block of Patriots Lane, located in Oshtemo. Fire crews found a “one pot” meth lab inside and contacted the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department. The KCSD’s meth team was also called in to clean up the lab.

Anyone with additional information in this case is asked to call the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office at (269) 383-8748 or Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100. Information can also be reported online at www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com.

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Witnesses say a knife attack that sent one man to the hospital started with an argument over a cell phone.

Around 5:45 p.m. Thursday, Kalamazoo Public Safety officers were called to the Kalamazoo Transportation on North Burdick. Outside the building, they found a 36-year-old Kalamazoo man lying on the ground with several stab wounds. The suspect, a 39-year-old Kalamazoo man, tried to run away from the scene but was quickly apprehended.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Kalamazoo Public Safety at (269) 337-8994 or Silent Observer at (269) 343-2100.